Hints for Bathers

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 6747, 4 January 1932, Page 10

Hints for Bathers

EXPOSURE TO THE SUN. DIFFERENT TYPES OF SKIN. Sore shoulders and tender backs aro the customary accompaniments of the holiday seasou to many who arc gnmiy determined to acquire a robust tan to their skins. A large proportion oi people, however, are by nature incapable of tanning their skin and to persist in blistering and peeling the skin, layer after layer, is to court serious illness. Such people arc known to science as hcliophobcs. Their skin lacks tho ability to manufacture pigment and for this reason it will not tan. A drastic exposure to the sun, causing serious blistering, affects the general health and may result iu sunstroke. On the other hand, sane periods of sun-bathing have a wonderful tonic effect on the system and the importance of sun-ray action on tho skin is being more and more realised by doctors. Commouscnso is the first requisite in embarking on a course of sun-bathing. Above all, bathers should protect the eyes and the back of tho head in tho hot sun. To begin with, 15 minutes’ exposure in a bathing suit, seven and a-half minutes at tho back and seven and a-half minutes at tho front, would be sufficient for dark-skinned persons and less would bo required for t hose with fair skins. The time should be increased from live to ten minutes a day up To two or three hours. Best Hours of the Day. The sun’s rays possess different properties, according to tho hour uf tno day. Tho best hours for sun-bathing aro before eleven in the morning ami after throe in the afternoon. Between thoso hours tho violet rays, which have tho power of producing benelieiai cneiuical reactions in the sain, arc predominated by the infra-Jed rays. Under wrong conditions, sun-batming oiten becomes an exhausting steam bath rather than an exhilarating sun bath. More beneiit can be gained by moving about and allowing tho air to circulate than by lying still. Persons in poor health should not sun-batho without i'ust consulting a medical man. With the holiday rush to tho beaches comes also the increased risk of drowning fatalities. Yet if a few simple rules were carried out, the annual toll ol deaths by drowning would bo reduced to a minimum. Non-swimmers do not realise how little effort is required to keep the human body afloat. If a person gets into water above his head, ho sliould not become panic-stricken, but should keep his hands under water, moving thorn with au up-and-down motion. This will keep his head easily out of water. Measures for Safety. Those who cannot swim stronglj should never venture beyond their depth if they can help it. It takes just as much ability to swim iu water a foot out of one’s depth as it does in watei 500 feet deep. “Ducking” is a dangerous practice if the victim is at all nervous of his ability to swim. It causes panic and may result in a long-continu-ing fear of bathing. From tho medical point of view, bathing within an hour and a-half after a meal is a bad practice. To acquire some knowledge of resuscitation methods is almost a duty of thoso who frequent tho beach much. The prone pressuro method is among tho simplest. The rescued person should be placed on his face on the beach, stretching both his arms over his head and placing tho head on the back of cue of his hands, with the moutii toward the iinegr-tips. The person who is applying tho method should kneel astride tho victim’s thighs, place his (the rescuer’s) hands over the Joiver ribs, and press down and forward, counting up to three. The pressuro sliould then be released, counting to two. This should bo repeated from twelve to fifteen times a minute. The sooner the resuscitation is applied the better. !